A contract is changed by agreement, not decree
Once the wage, hours, days and duties are agreed, they are terms of the contract — and a term can only be changed with the other party's consent. You can propose a change, but you cannot simply impose it. This applies in both directions: just as the worker can't demand a raise unilaterally, you can't cut hours or pay because money is tight or the household's needs shifted. The lawful route is a conversation that ends in agreement.
How to vary the contract properly
Raise the proposed change with the worker, explain the reason, and give them a real chance to respond. If they agree, record the new terms in a written addendum — the new hours, pay, days or duties, and the date they take effect — signed by both. Keep a copy and give the worker one. That written record is what protects both sides if the arrangement is ever questioned.
Unilateral changes are unfair and risky
Cutting pay or hours without agreement is a unilateral change to terms and conditions of employment. The worker can refuse, treat it as a dispute, and refer it to the CCMA; a forced pay cut can even support a claim of constructive dismissal if it makes the job intolerable. And no agreement, written or not, can take the hourly rate below the R30.23 minimum — that floor cannot be negotiated away.
When the household genuinely needs fewer hours
If you truly need less help — you're moving, or the role is shrinking — that may be a reduction of the role rather than a simple pay cut, and it can edge into retrenchment territory, which has its own fairness rules and may attract severance. The honest, lawful approach is to talk it through, try to agree reduced terms, and if the role really falls away, follow a fair retrenchment process. See our termination guide. Compliance tool, not legal advice.